Mermaid Quay Pontoons

Just checked with harbourmaster and was told that everything is back to normal now - I will let you make your own judgement as to what "normal" is though ;)
 
Just checked with harbourmaster and was told that everything is back to normal now - I will let you make your own judgement as to what "normal" is though ;)

Cheers thanks.

Yes normal means.... pontoons covered in seagull shoite, gate to MQ left open so interlopers can get at boats, the pay and display not working, a large swell from yellow ribs bashing your boat against the pontoons. Yes that would be normal.
 
Locks and bridges operating with no restrictions at the weekend.
We are coming over on Saturday and were thinking of staying at Cardiff Marina rather than our usual Mermaid Quay, does any one know if there is a chippy near there?
 
pontoons are open after the extreme 40 event where they were used as a base for the competing boats. At present there is no working p&d machine and the gate code is up on the gate. Free mooring might cheer you all up, doesn't seem to be much love for the MMQ pontoons, everyone seems to moan about them but still use them! interesting one that!

Suprised there hasn't been more reaction to the x40 event, thought it was the best thing i've ever seen in the Bay, any other comments?
 
Sneds, there isn't a chippy but there is a Hungry Horse pub called The Oystercatcher that is cheap and cheerful though it can be busy. You just pop over the Pont y Werin bridge. There are Tesco and Morrisons in walking distance too, or you could brave CBYC that is a walk (or row) down the river.

Wakeup, you can't really blame the yellow RIBs for all the wash that occurs at MQ, I have seen endless idiots in MOBOs and RIBs that flash about over the 5 knot limit and cause me no end of hassle! Assusing the yellow RIBs of being the only culprits is very narrow minded to the problem of the general public also making wash! Another wash maker is when the sluice gates are shut, it causes a wave like a mini sunami that when is hits the shallows at MQ will cause a big wave.

Keyfronts, the 40s were a brilliant site to watch, massively popular event I thought and a welcome one to the Bay in the future, might want to consider changing the dates though, I thought having it over the HF was a bit limiting to boat users.
 
Free mooring might cheer you all up, doesn't seem to be much love for the MMQ pontoons, everyone seems to moan about them but still use them! interesting one that!
?

Erm there isn't a lot of choice if you want to go to MQ. I would like to see well maintained and secure pontoons there and that would not seem unreasonable given the money and kit the Cardiff HA get every year from us the tax payers. i don't mind the PnD as long and the facility is worth it. Hmm funny one that.
 
There are plenty of choices to get to MMQ. You could walk, take a bus, ride a bike, drive.. . . . . or make use of the pontoons that have been installed.

As far as security goes the only people who are to blame are those that leave the gate open (normally so they don't have to pay for the code). There is a secure gate and lock, what else could be installed?

Money wise the MMQ quay pontoons were a one off investment that will never be repaid by charging via the P&D, the revenue probably doesn't even cover maintenance and repairs. Make the most of them now as i'm guessing the money wont be around to replace them when they wear out in a few yrs time.

If you want free short term mooring then just use the graving docks. Thought it was quite nice in there for a night last wekend.
 
Locks and bridges operating with no restrictions at the weekend.
We are coming over on Saturday and were thinking of staying at Cardiff Marina rather than our usual Mermaid Quay, does any one know if there is a chippy near there?

Bit of a walk but Plassey Street Chippy in Penarth is the best .
 
Clean now to be fair

I stayed on the mq pontoons last night and to be fair they were clean and appear to be well maintained. The pnd didn't work though but the gate was secure so I take back my earlier comments. Seems expensive for an overnight 24 hr stop though considering no water or electric.
 
We stayed at Cardiff Marina, full marks 10 out of 10! A Warm welcome and wi-fi to boot, althoughnI couldn't get it to work but they tell me it is all being sorted and up graded next week.
Lovely clean showers, although felt a little weird and then I realised they were actually afloat, on the pontoon :-)
The cleaner this morning (Sunday) after doing the usual
Loos and showers actually wiped down the rails on the pontoon as they were soaked with dew and he told a good tale of his Ma in Law's pet spider! Ask him if your there. All part of the nice ambience.
Walked to Tesco for supplies last evening (Saturday) and eat and drank on the boat enjoying the peace and quiet of the river.
Will defo go there again, would seriously consider relocating the boat from Bristol to there if it wasn't for the Severn Bridge toll, £6.00! Outrageous, doing the Welsh economy no good what so ever. What are the Senydd doing about it? Bugger all would be my guess but as an ex pat WelshMan living in Bristol I can assure you that that £6.00, and even more for trucks is putting up a Massive barrier to trade, tourism and general accessibility to the principality.
 
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We stayed at Cardiff Marina, full marks 10 out of 10! A Warm welcome and wi-fi to boot, althoughnI couldn't get it to work but they tell me it is all being sorted and up graded next week.
Lovely clean showers, although felt a little weird and then I realised they were actually afloat, on the pontoon :-)
The cleaner this morning (Sunday) after doing the usual
Loos and showers actually wiped down the rails on the pontoon as they were soaked with dew and he told a good tale of his Ma in Law's pet spider! Ask him if your there. All part of the nice ambience.
Walked to Tesco for supplies last evening (Saturday) and eat and drank on the boat enjoying the peace and quiet of the river.
Will defo go there again, would seriously consider relocating the boat from Bristol to there if it wasn't for the Severn Bridge toll, £6.00! Outrageous, doing the Welsh economy no good what so ever. What are the Senydd doing about it? Bugger all would be my guess but as an ex pat WelshMan living in Bristol I can assure you that that £6.00, and even more for trucks is putting up a Massive barrier to trade, tourism and general accessibility to the principality.

The theory is that the toll will be dropped to 50p in 2015 once the French construction company have recovered all the their capital and profit. But, I bet that the Welsh Assembly will continue to collet at £6 as it will bring in some extra tax, I just can't see them reverting to 50p as was originally planned. You are right, this crossing fee does stop companies locating to South Wales as well as individuals making life choices.
 
Talking of the bridge, i only found out today that as my van has a seat in the back and windows i don't need to pay the 'van' fee just normal car charge!
 
Off thread sort of, just come back from a weekend in Cornwall.(not by boat worse luck )

was stung by tolls and car parking. the worst was the Bodinnick ferry,£3.50 each way for a 40 second ride, Tamar bridge £1.60 i think, and then the good old severn bridge 6 quid.

car parking =lots of dosh.:mad::mad:.

In fact thinking about it i dont think there is such a thing as a cheap weekend break in this country.:eek:

The weather was ok though:)
 
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